Earring kit with plural changeable pendants



Oct. 13, 1970 c, oug s 3,533,247

EARRING KIT WITH PLURAL CHANGEABLE PENDANTS Filed Aug. 30, 1968INVENTOR. awn/A15 a nous/.05

ww w United States Patent 3,533,247 EARRING KIT WITH PLURAL CHANGEABLEPENDANTS Dwaine C. Douglas, Homestead, Fla. (4322 E. Jelferson, GrandPrairie, Tex. 75050) Filed Aug. 30, 1968, Ser. No. 756,642 Int. Cl. A44c7/00 U.S. Cl. 63-14 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ornamentalearring set which includes lightweight, differently colored,interchangeable bulbous ornaments carried on a chain. Each of theearrings includes a lightweight chain having a clip to connect to thecar at one end and a carrier at the other end to releasably connect toany one of the selected ornaments. The means on the carrier forassembling the ornament to the chain are normally practically concealedfrom view and housed within a recess in the ornament body.

This invention relates to an earring provided with an interchangeable,relatively large lightweight ornament of foam material suspended bycarrier means at the end of a lightweight flexible chain whereby theuser may select any one of several differently colored ornaments.

It is desirable to have large ornamental earrings having differentlycolored ornaments which may be interchanged to match different coloredcostumes. Heretofore, difficulties have been encountered in the use oflarge sized earrings because of the weight of the earrings on therelatively delicate ear lobes and because the spring pressure requiredto hold the earrings in position necessitated the exertion of anundesirably large pinch force on the tender ear lobes which would, in ashort time, result in discomfort rendering it impractical to wear suchearrings over an extended period of time. This invention overcomes suchdifficulties by providing a relatively large earring with a replaceable,decorative, bulbous body member composed of lightweight material.

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide an earringadapted to utilize any one of a plurality of differently colored, onepiece, lightweight foam material body members for achieving a relativelylarge ornamental earring of lightweight material.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved earringset composed of a plurality of pairs of ornament carriers and means forselectively connecting any one of a plurality of ornaments to thecarrier to permit interchangeability of the ornaments for matching aparticular dress.

A further object of this invention is to provide an earring composed ofa thin, lightweight chain with a spring clip at one end to engage theear lobe of a wearer and from which the chain depends or dangles, and anornament carried at the other end of the chain to normally captivate alightweight bulbous ornament body of foam material with a throughpassageway having opposite openings on the chain. The ornament carrieris provided on the lower end of the chain and includes a hook normallyhoused within the passageway and in hooked up relation with the end ofthe chain and which is adapted to be removed from the passageway bymoving the ornament along the chain so that the carrier may be nnhookedfrom 3,533,247 Patented Oct. 13, 1970 the chain, the ornament removed,and another ornament with a similar recess but of a different colorreplaced upon the chain, whereby differently colored ornaments may beselected at the option of a wearer.

It is another object of this invention to provide a plurality of pairsof ornaments for a set of earrings as described hereinafter.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved carrierfor a lightweight bulbous ornament for an earring which is adapted to beassembled or disassembled from the earring, which is simple inconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted forthe purposes for which it is intended and which may be included in a setcomposed of a plurality of pairs of ornaments of different colors and asingle carrier for the ornament.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparenthereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an earring embodyin g the instantinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the earring taken along the plane indicatedby the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the earring of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in cross section taken along the plane indicated by theline 44 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a view of a container to hold a plurality of pairs of ornamentbodies and the earring clip and carrier assembly for the ornament body.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designatelike or corresponding parts throughout the different views, andreferring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4, it is seen that the earringincludes an ornament 12 which is carried on a carrier means 14 composedof a hook portion which extends into a through recess 18 in the ornamenthaving opposite openings 15! and 19' and a seat 20 to support theornament at the lower end 21 of a lightweight chain 22 which is of alength at least twice that of the length of the recess 18 and to theupper end of which a clip 24 is connected.

The clip 24 includes a decorative outer portion 28 and an opposingmember 26 with a pad 32 which confronts the surface 30 of the decorativeportion to grasp the ear lobe of a wearer on hinged movement withrespect to hinge means 34 which includes spring means to normally urgethe clip into the position shown in FIG. 4. A hanging ring 35 isprovided to which the upper end 36 of the lightweight, flexible chain 22is connected.

In assembly, the lower end 21 of the chain is passed into the opening 19of the ornament 12, through the recess 18 and out of the other end 19,and, then, the hooked end 38 of the hook 14 is connected to one of thelower links of the chain. Thereafter, the hook is drawn into the recess,which is sized to receive the same and may be enlarged if desired,until. the seat 20 which is slidable along the hook body 40 overlays andis circurnposed about the marginal edge of the opening 19 to provide asmooth, decorative inner surface. Additionally, the upper opening 19 iscovered by a decorative cover plate 42 having a central aperture 44which renders it slidable along the length of the chain so as not tointerfere with the assembly of the ornament to the chain.

The ornament is of substantial three-dimensional mass and composed oflightweight foam material. The vertical axis of the ornament ispreferably of a length greater than one-half inch and not more than twoinches, and the ornament is symmetrical with respect to the verticalaxis. Preferably, all horizontal planes are circular form so as not todeleteriously interfere with the symmetry of the ornament as it iscarried on the lower end of the chain; however, it is recognized thatscalloped effects can be created without interfering with the symmetry,which is, nevertheless, characterized by a main diameter in the eventthat symmetrically arranged decorations are provided in the surface ofthe ornament. Thus, the body of the ornament may be within a range ofvarious sizes and configurations within the parameters of the requiredsymmetry with respect to the vertical axis and a vertical dimension of arange of about not less than one-half inch and not more than two inches.The through recess is centered about the vertical axis as is apparent inFIG. 4 and is of a diameter such that the hook 40 is readily receivabletherein and the seat 20 overlays the margin of the opening 19', and, ifdesired, the lower end of the recess may be enlarged to seat the entirehook of the carrier concealing it from view. Preferably, the seat issmooth and defines a socket or a generally spherical segment shape tonest about the marginal edge of the opening 19'. Also, the lower link ofthe chain may be enlarged relative to the intermediate links of thechain to facilitate a more ready threading of the hook end of the hookthereinto.

Referring to FIG. 5, it is seen that a container 50 is provided withinwhich there are a plurality of sockets such as 52 and 54, each of whichnests one of the ornaments of a plurality of pairs. Each of the pairs ofornaments is of a different color and may be selectively employed by thewearer to harmonize with the particular color of the attire being worn.In the preferred embodiment, the ornament is of spherical shape havingthe antipodal opposite diametrical openings 19, 19 and is of a delicatecolor achieved by a light spray or a dip of a dye over the foam body,which may be of any suitable plastic material, preferably ofpolyurethane foam or similar material. The decorative cover plate 42 maybe of an intricate design as indicated in FIG. 2 in the form of a floweror other pleasing shape. It is thus seen that there is provided alightweight, yet relatively bulky looking, ornament for the earringwhich is adapted to swing gently without discomfort to a wearer andprovide an attractive appearance which may be modified to suit the userscolor taste. Further, the carrier which provides for theinterchangeability of the ornaments can be completely secreted andhoused within the ornament body except during assembly and, thus, doesnot interfere with the smooth ornamental appearance of the design of theearring. Also, the length of the chain can be varied by connecting thecarrier assembly to one of the several links of the chain within therecess. Thus, it will be appreciated that while the ornamental bodiesare of relatively inexpensive foam material relative to that of the clipand carrier assembly, which are metal, this invention provides a meansfor interchanging the prominent decorative portion of the earring and,additionally, for adjustment of it along the length of the chain toraise and lower the ornament body thus providing an inexpensive range ofvarious types of earrings at a low price basis. For decorative purposes,glitter may be applied in combination with a light adhesive to thesurface of the ornament.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatis conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is, therefore, not to be limited to the detailsdisclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims soas to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus.

What is claimed is:

1. An ornamental erring set comprising a plurality of pairs of bulbousornament bodies, each of said bodies being composed of one-piece ofmaterial and each of the bodies of each of said pairs being of a similarexterior color and of similar shape,

each of said bodies comprising a three-dimensional mass of generallysymmetrical shape with respect to a vertical axis and of an altitude ofnot less than one-half inch and not more than two inches and having asubstantial cross-sectional area;

each of said bodies having a vertical through recess symmetricallyarranged about said vertical line of symmetry and defining oppositelypositioned upper and lower openings into the recess,

a carrier assembly to carry any one of said ornament bodies comprising,

a flexible lightweight chain having an upper end and a lower ring formend, said chain being of a major diameter less than that of the recessand freely movable longitudinally therethrough, said chain being of alength at least twice that of the length of said through recess; and

an ear clip connected to the upper end of said chain and including adecorative outer portion, an inner pad and means to connect said pad andportion for movement with respect to one another into and out ofclamping engagement of an ear lobe and means to hold said pad andportion in clamping engagement with respect to one another,

a decorative cover plate of symmetrical form as seen in plan on saidchain and having a central aperture to accommodate slidable movement ofsaid cover plate along said chain, said cover plate being sized to matewith and seat over the upper marginal surface of said ornament bodyabout the upper opening,

said carrier assembly further including an ornament carrier including ahook shaped member having a hooked end for engaging the lower ring fromend of the chain, and a main body length with an enlarged lower terminalornament body support end, said support end being sized and configuredto close the lower opening of the recess and to overlay the marginaledge of said lower opening,

said hooked end and said length being sized for passage through saidlower opening of the body ornament for releasable engagement with thelower ring form end of the chain and said hook shaped member being sizedfor receipt within said vertical recess to be normally housed withinsaid ornament body with the enlarged lower terminal end at all timesprojecting through said lower opening to support and carry the ornamenton the lower end of said chain,

whereby the length of said chain and the hook shaped member are adaptedto be withdrawn from said recess to unhook the member from said chainfor replacement of an ornament body on the carrier assembly with anotherbody of a different color or shape from said set.

2. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein the enlarged lowerterminal support end comprises a socket segment defining an ornamentalbody seat.

3. The improvement as set forth in claim 2 wherein said segment has acentral aperture and said seat is movable along the body length of saidhook-shaped member and captivated thereon.

4. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein a container isprovided having a plurality of pairs of sockets to separately nest oneof said ornament bodies in each.

5. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said decorative coverplate is of inverted cup-shaped form defining a concave recess shaped tomate with the surface of the ornament body about said upper opening ofthe recess.

6. The improvement as set forth in claim 5 wherein said plate merges andblends with the surface of the ornament body.

7. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ornament body isof spherical form.

8. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said chain iscomposed of a plurality of links and said hook-shaped member is adaptedto engage any one of the links at the lower end of the chain whereby theposition of the ornament relative to an ear lobe may be raised orlowered.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,710,734 4/1929 Johnson 63-13FOREIGN PATENTS 260,922 11/ 1926 :Great Britain. 803,032 10/1958 GreatBritain.

F. BAR-RY SHAY, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.. 6313, 29

